Son Of The Earth: Book of the Moon
by TheKaiSenpai
Summary: After the war with Gaea, the world returns to order once more. Or so the Olympians think. Trouble brews on the horizon in the shape of a boy and his teacher. What do the Olympians know of them? And how long are they willing to pretend that the boy is one of their own? Will their ignorance lead to a peaceful outcome? Or will it bring a greater war than even Gaea wrought?
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to the Land of Greeks

I do not in any way own Percy Jackson, which sucks major ass.

**Welcome to the Land of Greeks**

_**TheSonOfEarth**_

As Sutomu Arashi faced down his father, he had to wonder how things could have gotten so bad. Perhaps in another world he wouldn't have to put up with some god trying to kill him. Or maybe he wouldn't even be a demigod. Yeah, that probably would have been nice. Regardless, the smell of ozone filled his nostrils, and the tingling of electricity spiked through his body. It wasn't really unlike his own. Even so, his own powers were much tamer compared to his father's. That, and he was pretty sure he wasn't able to create a tornado of lightning at will. It would be something to try if he survived. To anyone else, this would seem abrupt, his father's desire to kill him. But Sutomu knew better. After all, every story has its beginnings.

_**TheSonOfEarth**_

Sutomu was orphaned as a child. Or at least, that's what Yomi told him. Sutomu was four when his master started training him. And looking back, the man was a lot tougher during his child years than he was when Sutomu grew older. He later supposed that it was meant to instill discipline in the trainee. Every day was training. From five in the morning to seven at night, every second was dedicated to practice. Of course Yomi knew better than to give a child a deadly weapon, despite his grumblings about his own training being against monsters and demons. From ages four through nine, Sutomu was trained in physical exercise, patience, mythological history of all cultures, and politics. Despite being ADHD, the boy somehow made it through. Yomi had a way of teaching that _made_ you want to learn. It was as if he put his entire faith in you. If you did so much as to even falter once, he'd give you a disappointed look that broke your heart. So, Sutomu did whatever he could to avoid that sullen gaze.

Yomi was by no means an old man. In fact, throughout Sutomu's life, Yomi never seemed to age a day. The man appeared to be at the ripe age of twenty-nine. His master described the age as 'the perfect balance between physical strength and wisdom'. Yomi always had his hair tied in a long, black rattail. He never wore armor a day in his life, but it was evident from his callused hands and hard, olive skinned body that he knew battle. The man's eyes were the most distinguishing feature about him, though. His eyes seemed to sparkle with both a childish glee, and a wisdom of many millennia. No matter what he did, Sutomu couldn't help but wonder how old his master was.

The two lived on a ranch in the plains of South Dakota, in the Badlands. Normally such a location would be a terrible place to live, but somehow there was a temperate forest that branched about a mile in diameter around the humble home. Their ranch was small, consisting of a one story building with about four rooms: two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen. However, the immediate area surrounding the house was dedicated to training and meditation. Later there would be a crater by the house from a sparring match gone too far.

As Sutomu grew older, his training changed. Politics and patience became something like homework. Martial Arts and Swordplay became the norm. Not long after his eleventh birthday, Yomi began to speak with a man with silky black hair and skin that seemed to be almost a milky white. When Sutomu looked at the man, he was reminded of some of the sleazy businessmen that would sometimes try to get Yomi to sell his ranch. But for some reason, the two men seemed to get along. When questioned, Yomi would only say "He's going to give me some sparring partners for you". Sutomu would later learn that 'sparring partners' meant bloodthirsty monsters that would happily feast on his rotting bones. Sutomu learned as a child that monsters, and to that matter gods, were very much real. But fighting them was a different thing entirely. Unlike his master, they had no qualms about killing him. After his first 'spar' he ended up with both of his arms broken and a twisted right leg. At age twelve, Sutomu met Quintus and Mrs. O'Leary for the first time. Since Sutomu was a master of Yomi's basic forms, his master had hired Quintus to teach the boy more advanced swordplay. It also so happened that it was the first time that Sutomu's demigod powers emerged. Of course, he'd almost died, but the effects were worth it. But the thing that interested him was why the powers had manifested themselves so late. Yomi explained that with his particular lineage, his abilities were far stronger than most other demigods. But as a consequence, they could only manifest at first from extreme stress or terror. True to Yomi's word, Sutomu couldn't use his abilities unless Quintus had beaten him to near death.

Age sixteen provided another landmark. Quintus and Mrs. O'Leary disappeared. Though Sutomu insisted, Yomi gave no indication that he wanted to start a search. It was also the year that Sutomu finally mastered his abilities. He'd been able to use them at will a year before, but could never beat his master at swordplay. He realized it was because he couldn't stop his master from attacking. If he could force the man to defend himself, than he'd have a chance. The problem was, he couldn't attack and use his powers' full abilities at the same time. Sutomu was devastated. That was, until he discovered video games. At first he found them as useless things to divert him from training, but he discovered that they could hold interesting ideas and possibilities. Like combo attacks.

The idea came to him from playing the Naruto game, _Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm: Revolution_. The attacks of both Madara and Sasuke Uchiha inspired him in how they seamlessly used their powers in their attacks. He noticed that the damage done by their attacks was the same as their normal attacks. They weren't using their full strength as the attacks linked together. Struck by inspiration, Sutomu began training to control his powers to use them quickly, efficiently, and able to cause a bit of damage whilst performing them. It was a success. Thus, Sutomu's Sākuruken (Circle Fist) was born, named after how he could supply a nearly endless stream of attacks through careful, preplanned movements. The downfall, though, was that if the enemy countered him, he'd have to improvise and try to circle back into the Sākuruken. It wasn't long until Yomi decided that Sutomu was ready for his own weapon. It was a surprise, however, that Yomi allowed his student to choose from his collection of _tsukumogami_, objects that had become possessed upon their one hundredth birthday. There weren't many. Yomi admitted that the collection had only started recently.

One weapon on the roster, however, caught Sutomu's eye. It was a _gunbai_, a battle fan. Though not the largest or most practical of weapons, Sutomu had seen how it could be used from watching episodes of _Naruto_. In his mind, it was ingenious. A weapon that could be used not only as a blade, but a bludgeon and a shield. Yomi, however, seemed disappointed in his choice. He claimed it was a recent creation, its hundredth birthday had passed the year before, but it was unreliable. The weapon had shoddy workmanship, and wasn't suited for battle. Sutomu insisted, however, and Yomi finally relented. Yomi claimed that he could pull a favor from an old friend to improve the weapon if Sutomu had the patience. He did.

It came back about six months later, six months before the monster Typhon became visible from the ranch. Though Yomi wouldn't elaborate, he told Sutomu to avoid any strangers claiming to be from 'the Empire' during the event. The weapon that returned didn't seem like a _gunbai_ in the slightest. In fact, it only looked like a black pole about five feet long. Until, that is, Sutomu flipped a switch on the 'bottom' of the pole. When he did, two flaps sprung out from opposite sides of the weapon, both with very sharp ends. The blades together looked like an hourglass when laid flat, with the widest parts being about two feet long each, and the neck being about two feet in width. The weapon was not decorated, but Sutomu soon fixed that. He painted the edges, up to about an inch into the weapon, a bright purple, and the interior a deep black to match the pole. At the top of the weapon, Sutomu painted light brown symbols that looked like small razor blades, though he claimed them to be in the likeness of a tornado or hurricane.

Two years later, at age nineteen, Yomi's training came to an end. Though inevitable, Sutomu was not happy with the idea. He'd lived his entire life with the man. He'd considered the man his closest friend. They'd laughed together. Cried together. In fact, the two were brothers in all but blood and name. But his pleas fell on deaf ears. During late spring, Sutomu Arashi was packed and ready to leave the ranch for once and for all.

_**SonOfTheEarth**_

Sutomu sighed, hoisting the last of his bags into Yomi's car. It was a 1991 Acura NSX, and Yomi insisted that it wasn't just a car. It was a way of life. Though he didn't quite understand the reasoning, Sutomu understood that the car was important to Yomi. Something that was carved into his skull when he'd accidentally scratched the underside of the vehicle during morning sparring. A slip of the hand equaled an attempted skull crushing.

As he'd grown older, Sutomu's jet black hair had grown out much like his master's. He'd decided, however, to keep it in a short ponytail. However, he also kept the front of his hair messy, much like his master's. His light brown skin, once soft and pale from lack of sunlight, was now hardened from years of intense training. The young man stood at five feet and seven inches. Short, Yomi explained, for average Americans, but still tall for his ancestry. Though slim, Sutomu was definitely not weak. It was the exact reason he was being sent away, to train himself with other people weaker than him. Yomi never explained why, but in return Sutomu never thought to question it.

"Yo, that it?" Yomi asked, closing the door to the ranch house and locking it. Though nobody would ever see it due to it being ten at night, the man was going 'all-American'. His clothing consisted of a brown leather jacket with a green undershirt. The shirt was loose enough to promote breathing and air flow, but tight enough to bring attention to the semi-slim man's muscle. As for lower clothing, he wore the kind of simple jeans you'd find in a Target or Wal-Mart along with hiking boots. "I'd hate to keep your next landlord waiting. He'd kick my ass if we're even a second late." Yomi muttered under his breath, "And if he knew we were coming." Clapping his hands once, the Japanese man sauntered over to his car. "Well? Get in. Time's a-wasting." Sutomu obeyed, getting into the passenger's side of the car.

"Where is it we're going, _shishou_ (master)?" Sutomu asked, "You haven't told me a thing about this supposed 'summer camp'." Yomi merely chuckled, taking a pair of shades from the glove compartment and slipping them onto his face.

"It's a quaint little place called Camp Half-Blood," the old master replied, pressing hard on the gas pedal. "Well, not quaint. It's actually a pretty big-ass place. Tons of people around your age or younger go there. Normally you'd be considered an elder there and would be sent out into the world, but I think getting some social interaction would be a good idea first." Yomi paused to let the idea sink in. The duo sped along the dirt road onto solid tarmac. "Any-who, the place is all Greek demigods. Well, a few Romans too, maybe, but who cares." Yomi smirked and adjusted his overhead mirror as he drove. Though he'd deny it, Sutomu's grip on the door handle was turning his knuckles white, as if he could somehow open the door in time if they crashed.

"Where exactly is this camp? And you're telling me that I'm not the only one with some god's blood in me?" Sutomu's face would have been filled with surprise. If it wasn't filled with terror already. They flew onto the interstate, passing a sign that signified the speed limit at seventy-five miles per hour. Sutomu glanced at the speedometer. It was at one-hundred and eighty miles per hour.

"Well, yeah. You didn't think you were the only one who got holy genes now, didja?" Yomi spoke calmly despite the outrageous speed, as if discussing the topic over tea. "We're headed to Long Island though. Take a nap, bub, we got a long drive ahead." Before Sutomu attempted to follow his master's suggestion, he noticed a thoughtful look on the man's face.

When Sutomu awoke, they were in Wisconsin, pulling into a motel. The sun was starting to rise over the horizon, and Yomi was giving it a sad look. The sun seemed to dim a little bit once its rays hit his face. Which sun god could be causing that? Apollo? Phoebus? Ra, perhaps? No matter, they were coming to a stop.

"Good morning sunshine," Yomi teased. "I'm going to stop here for the day. Welcome to Eau Claire." Sutomu could see bags under his master's eyes. They must have been driving the whole night. "Go and walk around if you want. I'm going to get some shut-eye. We'll start moving again around… say… seven this evening?"

"If that's what you've decided," Sutomu agreed. Yomi quickly pulled in and got a room. After confirming with his student on where the room was, he closed the door and jumped into bed. It had been decades since he'd last gotten a chance to sleep, and he sure wasn't going to pass up the chance.

Yomi was awoken by the door of the motel room slamming shut. Sutomu had his back pressed against the door, breathing heavily. Fear was evident in the boy's eyes.

"S-Shishou!" he cried, "We have a problem!" Yomi quickly stood, tossing the covers of the bed off of him. He looked at the clock. It was almost five in the evening. Not a bad rest. The door behind Sutomu started shaking.

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

"H-Help!" Sutomu cowered.

"What's got you all worked up, hm?" Yomi sighed, opening the door. His eyes widened at what was staring right back at him. The monster had a body of a tiger, and the eight legs of a spider. The face, however, was even more grotesque. It was of a human man who looked like his face was half melted off. Small horns protruded from the beast's forehead, and its jaw was wide open, almost as if it were screaming in agony, to reveal pointy little teeth. The face itself had a reddish tint to the skin. "Oh, a _tsuchigumo_," Yomi commented. The demonic monster stared at the man in front of him, than at the boy behind the man. Its eyes flicked between the two. Than it shuddered. The creature attempted to turn and run, but Yomi, grabbed one of its legs, effectively trapping it. He then held a hand to the beast's forehead. "_Tsuki no Ikari (Moon's Wrath)_." Cracks began appearing along the monster's body, bright blue light pouring out of them. After a few seconds, the monster exploded into blue, glittering dust, letting loose a wail of pain. Sutomu let out the breath he'd been holding.

"Gomen'nasai, shishou… But I'm not strong enough to fight one of those yet…" Sutomu admitted. "And… having my head bitten off doesn't sound fun…" Yomi simply smiled and laughed.

"I understand, my boy," he pat the young man on the back and began cleaning up any mess that had been made. "Well since I've been woken early, I suppose we should be on our way. We're driving straight through the night and should reach the drop-off point before dawn."

"Drop-off point?" Sutomu questioned.

"Ah, yes… Camp Half-Blood has some… rules they have to follow. You'll be picked up by one of the staff," Yomi admitted. "Sorry I can't come with you, but I've got shit to do, too." The man gave him a wide grin, but Sutomu could tell that it wasn't genuine. It took them less than ten minutes to get ready and go back onto the road again. Again, Sutomu allowed himself to drift off to sleep. He was woken up once during the night when Yomi had stopped for food, but that was the only time. When he next woke up, they were about an hour into New York.

The drop off point ended up being the western edge of Central Park in New York City. So, with bags unloaded and the Acura probably now far away, Sutomu waited. And waited. And waited some more. He waited until morning. He had no idea how long he had waited in that same spot. He could hear the noises of the city, and to be honest, it slightly disgusted him. Having lived on a ranch with clean air and little sound pollution, such things were new to him. He hated the way that people were always shouting. In all of his time at the ranch, there was hardly ever a need to be loud aside from spars. _This city…_ he spoke to himself, _It's a completely different world… Is the rest of the world like this? I hope not._

Sutomu was interrupted from his thoughts when he was approached by a man about his age. The man had shaggy brown hair, a goatee, and dirtied, scrappy clothing that suggested that he'd been living off the land for a very long time. Or perhaps a hobo.

"Hey, are you the guy that I'm supposed to pick up?" the approaching man asked. Sutomu shrugged and smirked.

"I dunno, am I? I might be a bit hard to lift," he replied. The man chuckled, but it was laced with worry. "Hey, you ok? You're from Camp Half-Blood, right?" The man quickly covered his mouth.

"Shh! Just announce it to the world, huh? Look, let's just get you to camp and we'll talk more." He paused. "My name's Hurstle Bush. Nice to meet you." Hurstle extended his hand.

"Sutomu Arashi, and you as well," Sutomu took Hurstle's hand and shook it, then grabbed a few of his bags. "Mind helping me? Just the backpack on the ground there." Sutomu was carrying a small handbag and took hold of the handle of his suitcase. He also strapped the black pole to his back, getting an odd look from Hurstle.

"_You'd think he'd be used to seeing magical weapons,"_ a voice spoke in Sutomu's mind as they began walking. He made sure to follow closely behind his guide.

_Why do you say that?_ Sutomu replied to the voice. He heard a weak chuckle in his mind. _C'mon, don't hold out on me, Kazeha (Wind Blade). _Ever since the weapon had been returned from Yomi's mystery friend, Kazeha had been his friend. They'd talk about almost anything, really. The problem was, they could only talk telepathically, and only when the weapon and he were in direct contact with each other.

"_Hurstle's obviously a satyr,"_ Kazeha replied. "_Look. Those stubby horns, the limp. That isn't a physical injury. He's hiding those sheep legs."_

_Goat legs, _Sutomu corrected.

"_Does anyone really care?"_

_I'm sure Hurstle does._

"Stop!" Hurstle's voice cried out. Sutomu immediately stopped. They were smack dab in the middle of Central Park. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was that the two were completely surrounded. "I… I don't know these monsters…" Hurstle backed up against Sutomu, a look of terror on his face. He looked at his charge, and was surprised to see that the demigod was completely calm. In fact, the boy's light skinned face begot the hints of amusement. Like his master, Sutomu's jet black hair was pulled into a ponytail to keep it out of the way during battle. His dark brown eyes seemed to be calculating everything around him.

"I do. _Kodama_ (tree spirits)." Sutomu sighed. Pushing past Hurstle, Sutomu regarded the spirit. "Kodama-sama, is there a reason you are interfering with our travel?" The spirit, shaped as vaguely humanoid, glared at him. The spirits all had the form of some sort of humanoid tree, much like a spriggan from a video game Sutomu had heard of, _Skyrim_.

"Human," the kodama hissed, "for so long we've waited for our revenge. Your machines destroy our homes. And though our Greek cousins may not take action, rest assured _we_ will." Sutomu was vaguely aware of the rustling grass surrounding him. "Kill them!" Quickly, Hurstle shakily pulled a wooden flute to his mouth and blew a few notes as Sutomu unstrapped Kazeha from his back. Vines started to sprout around the kodama and wrap around them, but quickly stopped.

"W-Why isn't my nature magic working!?" Hurstle exclaimed. Another kodama laughed, charging at the satyr.

"Foolish sheep, we are the embodiment of nature! You cannot use our own element against us!" With the wave of the spirit's hand, the vines moved away from the kodama, instead wrapping around the satyr.

"Get down!" Sutomu's voice rang out through the clearing. Hurstle quickly fell to his knees. "Kooryaaa!" Later, Hurstle would describe the feeling like being in the center of a tornado. When he looked up, he'd see that the majority of the kodama were completely shattered. Branches that were once limbs were sprawled around the ground. Hurstle gave Sutomu a disbelieving look. The boy set his rod back to its rightful strap. Upon seeing his guide's look, he shrugged. "Kodama are fragile."

Hurstle had heard of powerful demigods. Names like Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase sprung into his mind immediately. But what he'd just experienced was like nothing he'd thought possible. Taking out around seven monsters, intelligent ones that talked even, all within the span of seven seconds! And the boy just shrugged it off like it was nothing!

"_Think we made him piss himself?"_ Kazeha was laughing in Sutomu's mind. The boy couldn't help but snicker as he and his guide continued walking.

_Maybe. Let's just be glad that kodama are pretty weak._

_**TheSonOfEarth**_

Up on Olympus, things were in a frenzy. News of a powerful demigod spread fast. To be frank, nobody was quite sure what to make of the boy's sudden appearance, especially after the stunt he pulled. The fact that he also knew what _kodama_ were worried most of the Olympic Council. Hades was the only one with a smug grin on his face.

"Is there something you'd like to say, brother?" Zeus was shooting his eldest brother a glare. "Perhaps you know who this boy is?"

"Don't get your toga in a knot, Zeus," Hades responded, "he's just some kid 'I' met a while ago." The council room fell silent.

"I see," Zeus seemed to have lost his train of thought. "Where is this boy from? I think we all deserve to know." Hades seemed to ponder this. After a few minutes, he spoke up.

"He's 'Yomi's' student," the god of death admitted. Artemis hissed, crossing her arms and scowling.

"You've been conferring with the _Easterners_!?" Zeus roared, standing from his throne. "You know that they can't be trusted! They'd sooner take our power than-"

"Than what, Zeus?" Hades interrupted, "They have little care for us and what we do. They're _wanderers_, just like my boy. As long as we don't harm them and theirs, we won't be bothered."

"Sounds like someone else I know," Poseidon spoke up, looking pointedly at his elder brother.

"What does Tsukuyomi want _this_ time…?" Zeus seethed, slowly sitting again. Hades sighed.

"Probably to stir more trouble," Artemis grumbled.

"Now, now sissy," Apollo teased in a sing-song voice, sitting with his back raised against the shoulder of his seat, his legs dangling off the other side. He was absently picking at the strings of his guitar. "Just because ol' Yomi likes to pick on you doesn't mean he's a bad guy. I mean, he's just so… agreeable." The Greek god of the sun laughed.

"Getting back on track," Hera spoke with a voice that commanded attention, "what should we do regarding this child? Surely he couldn't be one of ours, could he?" All eyes shifted to Zeus.

"You all have ten seconds to explain yourself," the god of the sky growled.

"Well, he _did_ use winds to defeat his enemies," Hephaestus pointed out. "I'd say that's a pretty good reason. As impractical as it was…" Across the room, Athena noted that Hephaestus was staring intently at the boy's weapon, as if debating with himself about something.

"Not only that, but he kind of appeared out of nowhere," Hades added.

"Can you _deny_ having an affair that could have created such a child?" Hera asked pointedly. Zeus opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it. Instead, he simply looked away from his wife. "As I _knew._"

"The horny king strikes again!" Apollo jeered.

"As if you could speak," Hera countered. "Your newest hobby seems to be the same as your father's."

"Ah-ah, don't got a ring to hold me back," Apollo replied, winking. Hera scoffed in disgust, turning her head back to the image before them.

_**SonOfTheEarth**_

Jason Grace watched proudly as the temple for Hebe (or Juventus, her Roman name that Jason used) was completed. Tyson, along with a handful of his cyclops friends, had been graceful enough to lend a helping hand. Said goddess of youth was standing beside him, overseeing the construction. She had a gentle smile on her face as the last stone was placed. It had been almost a year since the 'Prophecy of Seven' had been fulfilled, and as pontifex, Jason had started right away to start building temples. His first ones were for Kymopoleia, in both Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood. He decided to build the temples in whichever camp that the god or goddess was born into. Greek gods in Camp Half-Blood and Roman gods in Camp Jupiter.

Jason was excited to spend some time with Piper, who was still the counselor of cabin 10. As much as she wanted to travel between the camps with Jason, leaving would mean placing Drew in charge. So until a new, eligible camper became available, she was stuck with the position. Still, Jason was a good boyfriend. He made sure to spend as much time as he could with her, and would IM her before lights out for her cabin. Finding an appropriate time was the hardest part. More than a few times, Jason had accidentally Iris Messaged Piper during her shower, which was something that their friends liked to tease them about from time to time.

"Yes… another one done," Jason sighed in appreciation. "Thank you Tyson! You and your friends did a great job!" Tyson grinned, waving at the blonde haired teen. After expressing her appreciation, Hebe left the camp. Jason stretched a bit and headed back to the Big House. It was probably around eight in the morning, and he wanted to get some sleep before planning his next project. He briefly debated on whether or not to head back to Camp Jupiter for the next temple, but decided to take advantage of Tyson's presence at Camp Half-Blood.

As Jason approached the Big House, there was an uproar of noise coming from Half-Blood Hill. It was always an awesome sight, seeing both his sister's tree and the Athena Parthenos together. Though the Greek goddess of wisdom and _tactical warfare_ hadn't quite warmed up to the Romans, she no longer wanted them dead. That was a plus in Jason's book. Not a second after looking to see what the noise was, though, Jason was met with the sight of a lone satyr running over the hill, a look of panic on his face. Behind him, Jason could see a boy following suit, looking back frequently.

"Are you sure this barrier works!?" the boy yelled at the satyr. The goat-man didn't even bother to answer, instead deciding to scream and run away. "Oi, you bastard! Come back and help me!" Jason sighed and manipulated the winds to launch himself in the boy's direction. As he got closer, he could see what was chasing them. It was a lamia, something he'd never seen near either of the camps before. The lamia had a body of a gorgeous woman with long, wavy blonde hair and fair, unblemished skin. She wore a skimpy t-shirt that had the words 'I like snakes. Can I see yours?' on it. However, below her stomach was nothing but a snake tail, probably trailing ten feet behind her. She had with her a simple celestial bronze sword in her right hand, and a dagger of the same material in her left.

"Come back honey!" the lamia yelled, "I just want a little bite!" Jason could hear the new boy grumbling under his breath as he landed beside him.

"Having trouble?" Jason asked. The boy jumped at his sudden appearance. "I could take this monster for you."

"Psh, and miss out on some fun? I haven't fought one of these things in years," was the reply. Jason made a mental note to ask about that later. "So, I'm guessing you're in charge of this Camp Half-Blood? Aren't you a bit young?"

"Nah, I'm just one of the campers," Jason answered simply. He could explain his position later. Not a second after he spoke, the lamia lunged at Jason. The blonde quickly sidestepped the monster, swinging his sword to cleave its tail off, thus making an easy kill. What he didn't expect, however, was that the lamia could use its tail as a weapon. Before his blade could make contact, he was struck by the surprisingly muscular tail. He skidded on the ground about five feet away. "Ow… That kind of hurt…" He looked up to see that the newbie was already locked in a deadly fight with the lamia, Jason himself pretty much being only a nuisance to the monster. As he watched the boy fight, he had to admit he was slightly impressed. It wasn't often that new arrivals to Camp Half-Blood could fight toe-to-toe with any monster.

"Ugh, this is taking too long," the boy grumbled. "Well, it was fun playing with you, but now you have to die. Ja ne, bitch!" That said, Jason's eyes widened as the boy's weapon, which he thought had an extremely impractical shape, began sparking with an electric buzz. With a great swing, the boy released an arc of electricity off of the weapon as it swung horizontally that continued for a good ten feet before dispersing. The blast of lightning seemed to roar, and Jason could instantly tell that it was more powerful than he or his sister could ever generate alone. Perhaps together they could. The lamia didn't stand a chance, dissipating into a fine dust before blowing away into the wind. The boy seemed to fiddle with the bottom of his weapon, and it turned into a black rod that he strapped to his back. "So… hey. The name's Sutomu Arashi, nice to meet you." He walked over and offered Jason his hand, which the blonde gratefully accepted.

"Jason Grace, Pontifex of both Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter," Jason replied, shaking Sutomu's hand.

"Camp Jupiter, huh? So if Camp Half-Blood is Greek… Roman?" Jason nodded in response. "Neat, guess I've got another place to go to after here." A few seconds later, the sound of clopping hooves could be heard behind Jason, and Sutomu's eyes widened. "Holy shit… That's…"

"Mister Arashi," Chiron spoke stiffly, "It's been ages since I last saw you. I dreaded that this day might come…" The old horse grumbled under his breath, "and when I get my hands on Tsukuyomi I'm going to strangle him… No warning at all…"

"Yeah, nice to see you, Pony-Man," Sutomu smirked, rubbing the back of his head. Chiron's teeth clenched at the nickname. "I gotta admit, I didn't expect you to be here. You know, the whole 'only one student' gig and all."

"I believe your information is vastly outdated," Chiron replied. Sutomu nodded, as if it all explained itself, and pulled out a notepad and a pencil, scribbling something down after erasing a line. Jason looked between the two, an expression of confusion plastered on his face.

"You two know each other?" he asked. Chiron regarded the son of Jupiter.

"His master and I once knew each other," the teacher said. "In the process we became friends of sorts. Though he irks me to no end…" By that time a crowd had gathered around the trio, with Piper pushing her way to the front to stand beside Jason. Her kaleidoscope-like eyes seemed to size up Sutomu, before she gave him a warm smile, signifying her approval. A soft glow emanated from above Sutomu's head, gathering everyone's attention. While the campers stared in awe at the cartoonish thundercloud with a bolt of lightning sticking out from the bottom, Jason noticed that Chiron's face had gone pale. "It has started," he heard the teacher mutter under his breath. "H-Hail Sutomu Arashi, son of-"

"Zeus," came the very sudden interruption. A very concerned looking Mr. D hobbled up to the center of the group. "Sumo Ariel, son of Zeus." He looked over the crowd of students, glaring at them as if to challenge them to question him. "All of you, back to your activities. Suko and I need a word together…" He glanced back at the new boy, a scowl on his face.

_**SonOfTheEarth**_

Up at Olympus, one could see a humorous scene unfold. The sight of the queen of heaven attempting to strangle the king of the Greek gods. Along with play-by-play commentary being uttered by Hermes.

"Zeus the King runs around the arena in desperate hopes to avoid his foe, but Hera the Vengeful is hot on his tail," Hermes jeered. "Oh! And Hera the Vengeful leaps over the throne separating them! What a move on her part! It looks like it's all over, folks! Zeus the King is at the mercy of his opponent! Folks, it looks like one thing is for certain. Zeus is _whipped_!" With that, the council room erupted into laughter.

"He isn't mine! He isn't mine!" the king of the gods almost seemed to be chanting as Hera attempted to choke him out. "I swear to me that he isn't mine!"

As the comedy played out, one set of warm, fiery eyes stared intensely at the image of Sutomu. With a small smile she whispered, "Welcome to the family."


	2. Chapter 2: Grudge Match

I do not own Percy Jackson, nor do I own a 1991 Acura NSX.

**Grudge Match**

_**SonOfTheEarth**_

Sutomu quietly followed the apparent Camp Director, Mr. D. The slightly unkempt man was dressed in a bright yellow leopard-skin print shirt, as well as ruffled khaki shorts. The new arrival took a quick peek at his notepad, identifying the man as Dionysus from his physical description and choice of leopard-themed clothing. And his reek of wine. They approached a large, white house that reminded him of some farmhouses that he and his master would see in old movies. Instead of going inside, however, the god of wine sat at a table on the porch. The Camp Director glared at him.

"Sit." It wasn't a suggestion. Sutomu quickly sat across from the god. "Just what do you think you're doing here, _Easterner_?" Mr. D spoke with an evident hint of annoyance in his voice, almost as if getting over a hangover. "As it is, I should kill you where you stand- err, sit." In response, however, Sutomu gave the man a confused look.

"Easterner? What do you mean by that?" he asked. The formerly disgruntled god's face turned to shock and surprise. "You're suggesting that the gods from Asia are real too?" Dionysus watched incredulously as Sutomu once again took out his notepad, scribbling down his newfound knowledge. "Hmm, I should have expected as much. I mean, I've fought against supposedly mythical Japanese monsters." With that, he placed the notebook in a carefully crafted leather pouch on his right hip.

"You didn't know…?" Mr. D finally asked. "Pah, who am I kidding? Tsukuyomi was never as smart as his sister. Of course he'd forget to tell you." Sutomu's eyes widened in realization, and he mentally kicked himself for not putting two and two together. "Yes, boy, your own teacher was the Shinto god of the moon, himself. Now Artemis will have twice the reason to hate you. I don't have time for talking to a clueless Easterner. Go to cabin 11." When Sutomu only stood and didn't move from his spot, the Camp Director merely rolled his eyes. "Argus! Go and show the new kid Hermes's cabin!" About a minute later, a man came out from the big house, and stared at Sutomu, which wasn't that hard. The boy took a step back, a bit unnerved at the sight of a man with bright blue eyes all over him. He took note of the blonde hair.

_"Think he's a relative of Jason's?" _Kazeha asked. _"I mean, I know Ancient Greek families are kinda freaky, but _that_ would be one killjoy of a sibling. No way to dip their hand in warm water when they're asleep without them noticing._"

_Shut up. Let's just do this. _Sutomu paused, _Did you know that Yomi was Tsukuyomi?_

_ "I… Er… Maybe?"_

_ … I really hate you right now._

_ "Kuh! Let's see you try and generate lightning through me again. I bet you it won't work in the slightest." _As Kazeha griped, Argus stopped in front of a large cabin. It was definitely a lot bigger than the others. In fact, the word 'lodge' might have been a better description. Argus simply nodded towards the building, as if to say 'My job's done. Get in there already'. Sutomu happily obliged to get away from the strange being.

Inside the cabin, it was completely hollow aside from lines of multi-tiered beds. The tallest one probably had around four beds stacked up to the roof. Though crowded, Sutomu noticed a lot of vacancies. The inside was a complete buzz, too. Litter, toys, and other objects were spread across the floor. A calendar hung by the door with the date, weather, and time of day. May thirtieth, 8:04 AM. Apparently the forecast was cloudy skies, zero percent chance of rain. Looking to find his own space, Sutomu decided on an empty bed to the left corner of the cabin. Beside him sat a girl with light blonde hair in a ponytail to the right side of her head. She was staring at him with curious blue eyes. She was probably in elementary school, but gave off an aura of petite toughness. She wore the orange shirt that Sutomu had seen a lot of the campers wearing, along with a pair of jeans that were slightly ripped. The girl also wore a necklace with two beads on it. The first one had the picture of a robotic, bronze dragon on it, along with a lightning bolt with a pink background. The second one was of the planet earth with a big 'X' over it made up of a trident and a lightning bolt, with a large owl spreading its wings behind the planet. It was extremely cramped on such a little bead, but somehow it worked.

"Aren't you a son of Zeus?" the girl asked, eyeing him cautiously. "Why are you here?"

"Is there something wrong with me being here?" Sutomu asked just as innocently. "Hermes is the god of travelers, right?" As if to double check, Sutomu's notebook was in his hands in an instant. "Yeah, and since I'm a traveler, am I not allowed here?" The girl gave him a deadpan look as if he were a complete idiot.

"The only reason you get to be here is if you're a kid of Hermes or unclaimed. You're Zeus' son. Go to _his_ cabin." The two simply glared at each other until the new camper finally gave in. He sighed and picked up his things, heading out from the cabin as the little girl gave him a smug grin from behind.

As Sutomu left, he couldn't help but notice a lot of activity across the commons. The cabin, a silvery, delicate looking place that had a light glow to it, was seemingly overrun with girls. Most of them looked under seventeen. One girl in particular was glaring at him, sending shivers down his spine. The girl had mid-length auburn hair, and eyes that seemed to match. Beside her, an older girl with messy black hair and punk-style clothing was trying to get the younger girl's attention. Noticing the younger girl's gaze, the older one quickly found Sutomu. With what looked like an angry growl, the older one marched up to him. Feeling intense hostility, Sutomu slowly reached over his right shoulder, ready to draw out Kazeha if necessary.

"What the hell did you do to piss of Lady Artemis so much, _boy_?" the girl seemed to spit out the last word. She got up in his face, jabbing his chest with her index finger. "Well? Answer me!" Sutomu simply looked at the finger she was jabbing him with.

"Are you a camper here? You might want some more upper-body training. Your attempts at physical intimidation is failing. Hard." He stated, giving her a soft look. He offered her his hand. "My name is Sutomu Arashi. It's nice to meet you." The girl gave him a look of both shock and anger. "Um… Usually people shake hands on meeting, right? Everyone else has." The girl's face burned red from anger. And maybe a little bit of embarrassment. Taking a deep breath, she seemed to calm down.

"Just a newbie…" he heard her mutter under her breath, "Stupid boy…" She then gave him her attention. "To answer your questions, my name is Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus and Lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis. No, I'm not a camper here, and for some reason Lady Artemis is glaring at you more than she does her brother." Sutomu glanced at the angry little girl again.

"The small one?" he asked. Eyes narrowed, Thalia nodded. Her fists were clenched and shaking. "Grace… Zeus… Are you related to Jason?" Thalia's eyes widened.

"My brother's here? Huh, great timing! Sorry, but I gotta report in and spend some time with my little sibling!" Thalia then took off towards the supposed Artemis, though turned back to face Sutomu once more, "This isn't over! You and me are gonna have a talk, got it?" Without waiting for an answer, she proceeded back on her way to Artemis and, after speaking a bit, ran off to the Big House. Sutomu merely scratched his head. He shrugged and proceeded to cabin one, after asking directions of course.

It didn't take long to set his things in the empty, cold cabin. Deciding to unpack later, Sutomu practically threw his bags into the room without so much as stepping in through the door. Before he did, however, he saw a note stuck to the back of the door. He quickly recognized it as a schedule, and took it with him. He also kept on him his notepad and Kazeha, but everything else was thrown into cabin one.

"Hm… So eight starts cabin inspection and breakfast…? I'm not exactly hungry…" He spoke aloud to himself. "But at nine is Ancient Greek with Annabeth." He paused. "Is it me, or does that sound kind of boring?"

_"It _definitely_ sounds boring as hell," _Kazeha chimed in.

_Shut up, I'm still pissed at you knowing who Yomi really was._

_ "Oh grow up. He told me to, alright? It's not like I had a choice."_

_ Whatever. Shut up and let me get through whatever this schedule is._ The weapon shut up.

Deciding to get to the activity early as to get a lay of his surroundings, Sutomu got directions from one of the children of Hecate. Apparently it was at the amphitheater so a lot of campers could fit at one time. It seemed like all of the campers took the lessons at the same time. The amphitheater wasn't too far off. It was close enough that he could see it from the cabins. When he arrived, however, he was surprised to notice that he wasn't the first one there. In the middle of the arena stood a girl with blonde hair and, from what he could see, dark grey eyes. She stood at a wooden podium, looking over some sheets of paper. She was so focused that she didn't even notice Sutomu walk up to her and peek over the podium at her notes. After about a minute, he cleared his throat, making the girl jump with a squeak and glare at him, hand gripped tightly around the hilt of a strange looking sword. It only took a moment to realize that the sword was made of bone.

"You…" her eyes seemed to narrow at him, as if studying him, "You're the new guy, right?" Though probably older than her, the blonde was definitely taller than him. Maybe by a good inch or two. "Son of… Zeus…" She seemed to be testing the words, but Sutomu could tell that she didn't quite believe what she was saying. After a few seconds of awkward silence the girl's expression softened into a light smile. "Annabeth Chase." Sutomu smiled in return, ignoring the past awkwardness.

"Sutomu Arashi. So I'm guessing you're the girl teaching Ancient Greek?" Annabeth nodded in reply, motioning towards her notes.

"Yeah, call it a part-time job," she went back to looking over the papers. "It's a lot of preparation, but at least Chiron pays me to do it. My boyfriend and I need the money anyways." She finally stopped looking at her notes and reorganized them. "We live at Camp Jupiter for now, so we pay rent and tuition with every drachma we earn."

_"This Camp Jupiter place is sounding more interesting with every word," _Kazeha stated.

_Yeah. I've already made a note to try and visit it when we can,_ Sutomu replied. "So you live there? Why are you here than?" Annabeth shrugged.

"It's nice coming back to the place everything started," she said simply. "My boyfriend and I decided to come back here every summer to help out. I think Percy's planning on becoming Camp Director someday."

"And you?"

"Well, I've got the job of Olympus' Architect, so being here lets me stay close to the workplace. I'm pretty sure my career is long term. The gods haven't complained yet. Much…" Annabeth rolled her eyes, as if thinking over a particularly bad thought. "Anyway, class begins in a few minutes. Why don't you get a good seat? Since you're new, I won't call on you, but expect to get picked on after a few classes." Sutomu nodded, heading up into the stands, getting a seat in the front row.

_**SonOfTheEarth**_

Though informative, Sutomu was not impressed. Annabeth's teaching style seemed more based on memorization than practice. It may have worked with some of the campers, but looking around, Sutomu noticed a lot of them simply staring at the girl with a blank look on their faces. Odd, because most of them were guys. Looking at the next thing on the schedule, he got directions to each place from Annabeth. Armor polishing. To be completely honest, Sutomu had no experience with armor. Every spar he'd had with his master or Quintus was without armor. Every mistake was beaten into his skin, until he stopped making them. That made things difficult, as he stared at the faded bronze helmet before him.

"The hell is this…?" he mumbled to himself, carefully trying to recreate what the instructor had showed him. "Is this acid…? Why the hell would we use acid to clean something…?"

"Hey, runt!" a female voice shouted out. Sutomu looked up to see an angry looking girl with a healthy, but definitely strong looking, body. "I hear you're the new guy that got in." She looked him over with her brown eyes. She was dressed for travel, wearing comfortable looking clothes rather than the orange t-shirt and khakis the other campers wore. It was likely that she'd just arrived. "You don't look so tough. I bet you'll beg like a little girl during 'initiation'." Sutomu had to laugh.

"I dunno," he replied, "the last little girl I talked to looked like she wanted to kick my ass." The girl laughed, grabbing Sutomu by the arm.

"Oh yeah, I'm gonna enjoy torturing you, sissy," she was grinning as she spoke. In that moment, Sutomu performed an action that most camper would consider a mistake. He pulled his arm from Clarisse's grasp. The noise around the two quickly silenced. "You dumbass! Yeah this newbie gets fried!" Drawing a sword from the hilt on her waist, she moved away. It confused Sutomu at first, but he realized that she was moving them away from the crowded workshop. He gave her a nod of approval, which only seemed to piss her off more. As he moved outside, Sutomu unstrapped Kazeha from his back.

"Seven fights in one day," the boy sighed. "Is the outside world really so violent?" He flipped the switch on Kazeha, allowing the weapon to spring free.

_"Tell me about it. It doesn't help that everyone you've fought so far was so weak."_

_ Hopefully this girl is better. She reeks of fighting spirit. Just look at her eyes._

_ "I see. Well don't keep the girl waiting. You might want to make the first move. I get the feeling that she'll completely disable you if you let her do it."_ Obliging, Sutomu charged at the brunette. _"Don't use your full power. Test the waters first with physical skill."_ The new demigod swung horizontally with the face of the fan looking down, hoping to see how his opponent reacted. The girl quickly pulled herself back, deflecting the blade off of her sword. The weight of the weapon threw her off though, forcing her to give an opening. Sutomu didn't take it, and instead spun around, using the momentum of the first swing to move the sharp edge of his weapon downwards. By now, a crowd had gathered around the two fighters. Both Annabeth, Jason, and Thalia were in attendance. Suddenly, the girl spun around the downward swing and pushed herself close, making a risky move to get into Sutomu's defense.

"Let's see you fight a shorter weapon up close, meat!" she taunted, aiming to stab at the boy. Sutomu quickly jumped, landing on his enemy's sword as it thrust forward, before stomping it to the ground.

"Kick his ass, Clarisse!" someone from the crowd yelled.

"Wipe that grin off her face, Su-Sutomu!" someone had difficulty pronouncing his name. Sutomu noticed the lack of a grin on Clarisse's face.

The stomp made Clarisse stumble forward with her sword and Sutomu kicked off of her head to land behind the girl. He didn't, however, make a move to take advantage of the opening. It was already evident that he could avoid her attacks. Now it was time to see if she'd give up. Of course, she didn't.

"You're making a mistake," Sutomu stated calmly, his expression identifying the same. "I'd back out now if I were you, _baka_. You're lucky I won't use my powers on someone who has none."

"Don't underestimate me, bitch!" the girl growled, stepping forward to attack again.

_"It's so sloppy…" _Kazeha griped, _"How the hell do these kids survive? All force, no brains…"_

_ No idea. We'll have to talk to Chiron about their training._ Sutomu sidestepped yet another swing, watching Clarisse's pissed face slowly contort into tiring frustration. "Your attacks are slow and don't flow well."

"Shut up!"

"How are you so weak?"

"I killed a drakon, jackass! Shut up already!"

"A drakon? Not bad, but you still are too slow to beat me." With that, Clarisse lost control, charging blade-first at her opponent. Instead of moving out of the way, Sutomu sighed and spread Kazeha in front of him with the flat of the weapon facing outwards, completely blocking Clarisse's strike. He pushed forward, intending to throw her off balance. The move did just that. Sutomu spun, swinging horizontally with the fan, the wind generated from the movement being enough to make Clarisse stumble. Even behind her, the campers had to make an effort to stand their ground. After swinging, Sutomu planted the tip of his weapon into the ground, flipping over it and heel dropping Clarisse in the head as he came down. Using the momentum of the flip, he than crouched and sprung up, driving his knee into Clarisse's chin. The girl's head shot back as Sutomu spun again, using the momentum to stab his weapon forward into Clarisse's stomach. He stopped there as the girl fell to her knees, completely out of breath, and energy to keep going. There was silence as Sutomu walked away from the fight to go to the next activity on his schedule. Though he hadn't broken skin in any way, the other campers could tell that Clarisse's body was bruised along with her pride.

As Sutomu walked away, a man wearing a leather jacket and jeans watched from a distance. He regarded the boy with stormy black eyes before dissipating into the wind.

_**TheSonOfEarth**_

"He's a threat!" Ares roared at Hades.

"Your fool of a daughter drug him out," the god of the dead growled in response. "He had the right to defend himself and fight back!" Ares opened his mouth to retort, but Apollo interrupted them both.

"So who wants to bet that my sis tries to fight him?" he asked. The commotion in the throne room stopped, simply to stare at Apollo for his off-topic question. "What? It's sure as Hades more interesting than watching you two fight again." While both the gods of the dead and war growled at him, Hermes was covered in a bright light for a moment. When it faded, the god of thieves was dressed in vertically black and white striped shirt and a baseball cap.

"Taking all bets, taking all bets!" Hermes shouted, "Chances of Artemis the Hunter fighting the new boy, Sutomu Arashi!" Apollo tossed fifteen drachma to Hermes.

"My bet's on that they'll fight!" He called out. This continued for a few minutes at Apollo's delight. Ares seemed to have forgotten his anger in favor of gambling against his fellow Olympian.

_**SonOfTheEarth**_

Percy ran up behind the new camper, hoping to fulfill his girlfriend's will. Her will being to invite Sutomu into the capture-the-flag game that night. Of course it was against the hunters. Of course they'd probably lose. But Annabeth wanted every advantage she could get, especially a demigod who could seemingly take down Clarisse with ease. He rested his hand on the boy's shoulder as soon as he caught up. "Hey, wait up," he said. The boy stopped.

"Hm? Need something?" he turned around and asked. Percy saw something in the guy's eyes that made him uncomfortable. Maybe it was a sense of danger. Or curiosity. Whatever it was, Percy shoved it aside like all the other times.

"Hey, my girlfriend was wondering if you'd be part of the team for capture-the-flag?" Percy went right to the point. "I'm Percy by the way. Percy Jackson."

"Sutomu Arashi. Pleased to meet you," the boy responded. He had a distant look on his face though. "But… I don't know how to play your game. Would I be any good at it?"

"What? How do you not know capture-the-flag?" Percy asked, shocked. "I mean, what kid doesn't learn it eventually?"

"I've never left my home before… a few days ago I think," Sutomu responded, getting Percy to regret his choice of words. The camper in front of him wore a slightly sorrowful expression. "So I don't know a lot of the things that you and your friends might consider normal. Please forgive that."

"Ah, no problem!" was the response, "Well, I think Annabeth will get to explain it to you before we start. But do you want to join us?" Percy withheld the reason why, in case the boy didn't want to face the hunters. He'd been there to see the look Artemis was giving the newbie. He sometimes got that look from Annabeth when he interrupted her work. Any time that happened, he ran.

"Ano… sure," Sutomu grinned. "Just tell me where to be and when."

"It should be on your regular schedule. It's Friday after all."

"Eh? Oh, look at that." Sutomu looked over the schedule in his hands again. "I guess I'll see you there."

_**SonOfTheEarth**_

Even after Annabeth's lengthy explanation, Sutomu wasn't quite sure of the rules. So instead, he decided to play it by ear, so to speak. From what he gathered, though, was that there were two teams. Both teams got half of the forest near the camp, separated by a small stream. They would both hide their flags. Both teams had to receive the other team's flag and cross the stream to win. The part that confused him, however, was the use of abilities and combat. He quietly apologized in advance to any camper he hurt.

That night it was apparently a match between the campers and the Hunters of Artemis. As he wandered over to his ever arriving team, he couldn't help but notice all of the hunters were glaring at him. Feeling that getting everything out of the way would be the best option, he walked over to them. Well, to the little girl named Artemis.

"Is there something bothering you, Artemis-sama?" he asked her. The girl's glare broke for a fraction of a second, as if she wasn't expecting to hear those words.

"I have no qualms about you, Easterner," she glowered. "It is your… master whom I have no love for. If you were wise, you'd escape my sight, _boy_." Sutomu frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well? Off with you."

"Why do you have a problem with my master?" Sutomu asked. He suddenly remembered who said master was. "Is it because he has the same domain as you?" Artemis huffed, turning away. Sutomu's frown deepened. "Don't you think that's a little childish? I mean, you both have to work together, right?"

"It's for that exact reason that I dislike him so," Artemis glare returned to the boy. "You have no idea how annoying he is. To make matters worse, I can't escape him! We have the same workplace! He's even worse than my brother!"

"Don't you speak about my shishou in such a way!" Sutomu's expression hardened.

"And what will _you_ do about it, boy?" Artemis challenged. There was an uncomfortable tension among the campers and hunters watching as the goddess and demigod glared at one another. "Answer me when I speak to you!"

"You and me. During the game," Sutomu suggested darkly. "You won't attack the campers. I won't challenge the hunters. Neither of us will go for the flag. We seek each other out, and we fight. Nothing more, nothing less. Do you understand?"

"I'm not a fool, mortal boy," Artemis smirked, "but if you wish to be one and throw your life away, so be it." With that, Artemis spun around and walked back to her team of hunters. After watching for a bit, Sutomu returned to the team of campers. Jason was among those watching.

"That wasn't really a good idea," Jason told Sutomu as he got closer. "You just pretty much challenged the goddess of the hunt to a duel in her own territory. Even _I'm_ not stupid enough to try that."

"She needs to get over my shishou," Sutomu replied, "I won't let anyone badmouth him." Jason merely sighed and shook his head, looking to Percy and Annabeth. It had been decided that Annabeth would be the leader of the team. Hopefully she could pull them through. Secretly, Jason wished that Nico were with them. Having all the children of the Big Three would definitely turn things around. After hearing of the complete losing streak the campers had, he wanted every possibility to win. As Annabeth briefed the campers on her plan, Jason took another glance at the newest camper, who was fingering a silvery locket hanging around his neck.

_**SonOfTheEarth**_

It was impossible. It should have been impossible. But yet it had happened anyway. At the expense of the pride of the Hunters of Artemis, the streak was broken. Though with Annabeth, Percy, Piper, and Jason on one team, it was probably to be expected. Both campers and hunters filed out of the forest with different expressions. The collective look on the campers was joy. On the hunters, anguish. For both teams, shock and disbelief. Artemis leaned against the shoulder of Thalia, too exhausted to be angry. In fact, she was mildly impressed. She hadn't expected the boy to last for so long. Looking over at the camper's side, she watched as an unconscious Sutomu was carried to the Big House. Though not quite on par with a god or goddess, the boy had both talent and skill. And she had the slightest feeling that the boy had yet to reach his full potential. She now understood why the older Olympians feared the Easterners and their children. They were almost immeasurably powerful, if that boy was anything to go by. She vaguely wondered if Tsukuyomi could beat her with ease.

Artemis hid a shudder. Unlike the Greek gods, the Shinto gods were still worshiped openly. They still had a large source of power. Not only that, but most of the Shinto gods were older than the Titans. They also were direct children of the forces that created the universe. There was no doubt in her mind that if the Shinto gods wanted to interfere, there would be little to stop them. The idea sent shivers down the goddess's spine. Still, she gave the boy who faced her some credit. He was a strong warrior. It was a shame he wasn't a girl.

_ "You're a fool to try and face me," Artemis' voice echoed around Sutomu. In actuality, the goddess was sitting right above him, enjoying the fact that he was looking around for her. "I could kill you so easily. What makes you think you could face me?" Artemis stiffened as his gaze passed over her. He had that strange weapon drawn. After seeing it earlier, she figured that it wasn't much of a threat to her._

_ "I'll never know until I try, little girl," the boy taunted. The goddess' hair bristled at the thought of him using femininity as an insult. "Gotcha! Toorya!" Sutomu swung his weapon in an arch over his head, and Artemis could feel the gust of wind threatening to push her off of the branch she was perched on. Realizing that she was discovered, the goddess of the hunt pounced at her prey. With hunting knives drawn, she was intent on slicing him to pieces._

_ Her attack, however, was stopped by the massive hourglass shaped weapon's flat end. She felt herself spinning as Sutomu swung again with her on top of his weapon. _So that thing is defensive and offensive,_ Artemis noted. She leapt off of the weapon back into the brush. _Sneaking won't help me here. He'll eventually find me. He's not like Jackson in that regard._ In the distance, Artemis could hear the game being played out. _I have to be direct._ As soon as Artemis' feet hit the ground, she ran at Sutomu again from behind. Again, her attack was blocked by the massive weapon._

_ "Having trouble, Artemis-sama?" Sutomu asked in a taunting voice, "Let's see how you like my electricity!" Before Artemis could move away or drop her weapons, she felt the massive amounts of electricity travelling through her knives. It didn't take long for her to drop them with a yelp and move back. Her knives laid on the ground, sparking. She glared at the boy. Without warning, Sutomu swung again, blasting wind into her face at point blank, forcing her to cover her face with her arms and stumble back. She could feel hints of static in the air around her._

_ "Is that it?" she screamed at him, "A little wind and some lighting!?" For a moment, she felt like this would be way too easy. Of course she could outlast him. Her stamina would beat him out if all he could do was the generic son-of-Zeus abilities. Her heart fell when she heard him laughing. Artemis looked down, noticing that at some point during the fight she had returned to her adult form._

_ "Oh, come now," Sutomu smirked when he stopped laughing. Artemis looked up at him from behind her arms. His weapon was in his left hand, pressed into the ground upside-down. His right hand was raised to his side. "You didn't think I'd not give it my best against a goddess, did you? You're exactly where I want you." Artemis was about to question him when she noticed that the static hadn't disappeared around her. "Let's see how you stand to this." Sutomu snapped his fingers, and the air around Artemis became trapped in a sphere of electricity. Almost instantly, the sphere started collapsing around her. She was like a caged animal._

_ "You bastard!" Artemis yelled as the first 'bar' of electricity touched her. She did her best to ignore the pain, unable to think of a way to escape the trap. Sutomu simply hoisted his weapon over his shoulder as the sphere finally completely closed on the huntress, sending volts of electricity coursing through the woman. Falling to her knees, a feral growl escaped Artemis' lips. "You'll regret that, boy!" She quickly picked herself up, feeling remnants of static coursing through her body. Quickly, she drew her hunting bow and quickly fired three arrows at the boy in rapid succession. Though he tried to lower his weapon to defend himself, it was too late. Two of the arrows struck his left arm, the last one was thrown off course by the gunbai. Without giving him time to recover, Artemis dashed forwards, knocking the war fan out of his hands with her bow. It flew off into the trees. In the meantime, Sutomu had ripped the arrows out of his arm._

_ "Kuso," he spat out a curse, "that hurt…" He looked down at his arm, and Artemis noticed his face briefly space out before quickly turning his attention back to her._

Is he afraid of blood?_ She pondered, grinning wickedly at the thought, _I think I know how to end this easier._ Artemis lunged at Sutomu again, hoping to impale him with her bow. Instead, he raised his leg and forcibly axe kicked the tip of the bow into the ground, then proceeded to yank it out of her hands and toss it into the brush just as she'd done to his own weapon._

_ "Hand-to-hand," Sutomu commented. "Pure skill versus pure skill. Interesting. Come at me little girl." Artemis let out an angry roar, attempting to end the fight quickly. While she fought more fluidly than the other Olympians, Sutomu's fighting style could be described as that of a brawler. Normally that would be easy to counter, but he took it to the extreme. It didn't matter at what angle Artemis came at him, he was always ready. Even if she was directly behind him, pouncing, he would duck without even looking at her._

_ "How!?" Artemis finally screamed, "How are you doing that!?" Sutomu merely smirked, stopping to snap his fingers. At that moment, a current of electricity seemed to travel through Artemis, giving her a brief shock. She hadn't noticed it before from getting used to the feeling, but the air was still full of static and ozone._

_ "Let me introduce you to my favorite ability," Sutomu announced. He was about seven feet away from the goddess. He smirked and pulled his fist back. Artemis stood ready, not sure what to expect. He was obviously too far to hit her. That was what worried her. When Sutomu's fist flew forwards, the goddess of the hunt saw it. As he punched, the air directly in front of him seemed to solidify, quickly taking the shape of a fist. In the second that it took for Sutomu to punch forward, an arm had appeared in midair, made completely of metal, and slammed into Artemis. The goddess flew back before hitting into a tree. "Don't you love it? I call it steel sense. I can't do it with Kazeha because it takes too much focus. But unarmed? It's perfect." The wind seemed to pick up around Sutomu before creating a miniature tornado around him made completely of steel particles._

_ "That's how you filled the air with your electricity," Artemis deduced, slowly standing up. "But how…? How do you bend metal to your will?" Sutomu smirked and winked at the goddess._

_ "Static. Since I can control electricity, I fill the metal with static and they become susceptible to me," he answered. He patted a few pouches on his pants. "Before the fight started, I sprinkled my steel dust all over this place and waited for you. You fight best in the forest, but you just entered my cage." Artemis' eyes widened._

I have to finish this now!_ She mentally screamed at herself. The steel cyclone enveloping Sutomu dispersed, and Artemis knew that she only had maybe a minute to defeat him. She was in his territory. Artemis rushed in again, deciding to try and completely overpower the demigod. With every strike, she could tell that he was tiring. But with every second, she could feel jolts of electricity penetrate her body. Instead of using tact and stealth, which would be her normal fighting style, Artemis allowed herself to use her raw strength. There was no deception. No rapid movements. Only punches, kicks, and blocks. While Sutomu was clearly above her on physical strength, she was more nimble and could avoid his strikes while he had to try and block them, taking damage and losing stamina faster than her._

_ "I won't lose here!" Sutomu roared, bruises covering his body. His breathing was heavy, alongside Artemis'. She was weak, but so was he. Her energy drained from the pain of being subjected to electricity for over two straight minutes, and his from being rapidly struck. "For my master!" Sutomu pulled his fist back, and Artemis noticed that it became encased in a steel gauntlet._

_ "I _won't _lose to a boy!" Artemis growled in return, pulling her own fist back. Her hand flew forward at the same time as Sutomu's. A sickening _CRACK!_ Filled the air. The sounds of victory from capture-the-flag could be heard in the background as the loser fell to their knees, passing out._

_ Artemis looked down at her fallen opponent. Her turning back into her adult form had been the cause of her victory. Her reach was longer, and she was able to strike him down before he reached her. Had she retained her normal form, she would have lost._

_ "You fought well for a man," she complimented Sutomu's unconscious body begrudgingly. "Maybe I'll have you challenge me again sometime." With those words, Artemis fell to her knees, exhausted, until both the campers and hunters found them._


	3. Chapter 3: The Sun and Her Daughter

I don't own Percy Jackson. I also don't own a gunbai.

**The Sun and Her Daughter**

_**SonOfTheEarth**_

The weekend passed quickly for Sutomu. It was mostly free time, much to his good luck. His time there was curious, to say the least. His first morning, a Saturday, he was rudely awoken by a bucket of yellow paint placed precariously over his cabin's door. He later discovered that the camp counselors of cabin 11, the Stoll brothers, were infamous for causing pranks around the camp. Of course, that meant war. The camp soon became a battleground with casualties on all sides. While Sutomu was definitely a respectful man, he was by no means shrewd. More than once he and Yomi, or Tsukuyomi as he'd begun to call his master, had started an impromptu prank war. Sometimes when Quintus would visit, said war would target the new arrival.

Sutomu's retaliation began the same afternoon. As everyone had lunch, the Japanese deviant was watching from afar. Underneath the Hermes table, he'd planted an explosive he'd gotten from the young girl he'd met the day before. Said explosive was rigged to blast the table in a safe direction, whilst splattering cake and icing everywhere. Said girl away from lunch, instead opting to eat back at the cabin. With the press of a button, the Stoll brothers were covered in cake, and the entire Hermes cabin declared war.

The next strike was issued right after the sing-along campfire. Many of the campers had made s'mores early on, but a certain 'child of Zeus' was taking his time to make the perfect s'more. He'd done it only a few times at the ranch, where the marshmallow had been a steady golden-brown all over. At that moment, the entire Hermes cabin decided to arrive and sing with all of their might, excitedly and loudly. The campfire, being magical, rose tall and bright, effectively destroying a certain new camper's marshmallow, which had been cooking for a good ten minutes. That night, as Sutomu planned alone, the Hermes cabin created their master plan. Casualties were to be expected. At precisely seven in the morning, everyone would wake up to a loud bullhorn. Upon exiting their cabins, they would find that everything had been painted a bright orange in the middle of the night. Not even the Big House had been spared.

However, their master plan would than backfire. The entirety of Cabin 11 would take the entire day to clean up said mess under the supervision of a very disgruntled Chiron. Later, Sutomu would offer his help out of pity, and the prank war would be called off. Temporarily.

_**SonOfTheEarth**_

Monday started off peacefully enough. So far, nothing had been done between Sutomu and the Hermes cabin. Sadly, Sutomu knew he'd lost the war. He was no match against the masters. But as long as there was a ceasefire, he'd never openly admit it. He watched as Artemis and her merry crew of hunters began packing, waiting for a certain Lieutenant to arrive. He'd agreed the night before during the campfire to talk to her about whatever she wanted. At that point she admitted that she had no reason to since the capture-the-flag game, but instead asked him for a spar. Though he was a bit worried about facing his half-sister, he figured that doing so would allow him to truly compare his power with someone strong. All of the others who had faced him were hopelessly weak, aside from the head counselor of the Aphrodite cabin who had actually posed a challenge. She'd confirm it later as charmspeak, the ability to bend people to one's will. Despite her attempts, he was able to finish her through the same way he'd fought Artemis, through shocking her so much that she was too distracted to speak.

"You're ready?" Sutomu jumped. The voice of Thalia came from right beside him. The hunter was giving him a hard look, as if studying him. "C'mon, I haven't got all day. Lady Artemis wants to leave before noon.

"Yeah, let's see what you're made of," Sutomu commented, smirking. The two of them started walking to the Amphitheatre. "So how was your time with your brother?" Thalia gave the boy a small smile.

"It was nice. I haven't seen him in a really long time," she replied. "I think the last time I saw his was before the whole war really began."

"Yeah, the war…" Sutomu trailed off, "Was Gaea scary? I mean, I've never met a Greek god or goddess aside from Artemis-sama, but… she wasn't exactly what I expected."

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?" Thalia growled defensively.

"I'm just saying that I expected your immortals to be stronger," Sutomu responded, unaware that he was offending the hunter. "I was almost able to face her to a standstill. Are all of the Olympians so weak?" He began to turn and face the girl beside him, but was quickly interrupted by being punched in the face. "_Itai_ (Ow)!" The boy stumbled back, reaching for _Kazeha_.

_"I was going to warn you,"_ the weapon stated as Thalia started running at the offender, bow already drawn. Sutomu in turn drew his weapon.

_That would have been helpful!_ Sutomu yelled back, blocking Thalia's strikes. She was using her bow as a weapon itself, something she'd learned from Artemis. Her bow was special, however. It allowed her to use electricity through it, much like Sutomu's Kazeha.

"Don't _ever_ disrespect Lady Artemis!" Thalia growled. She tried to stab forward, but her attack was blocked by the now active war fan.

_"I think she likes you."_

_ Now's not the time, teme (bastard)!_

"This'll teach you a lesson!" Thalia spun, using her bow to push her enemy's weapon to the side, quickly drawing the bowstring. In place of an actual arrow, what she had knotted was a very active lightning bolt, similar in look to her father's Master Bolt. She immediately let the lightning fly as soon as she'd gotten a good aim at Sutomu.

_What do I do!?_

_ "Let go of me and use your steel!"_

In that split second, Sutomu released his grip on Kazeha, immediately taking control of his static-filled steel dust in his pant pouches. The steel flowed to defend him, but could only stop some of the incoming electricity. The rest, about forty percent, struck the boy's arm, raised to defend himself. He grunted in pain as he felt Thalia's electricity course through him for a split second. Any normal demigod would have been fried and dropped to their knees in defeat, but Sutomu somehow endured it. Almost immediately, Thalia had another bolt of lightning notched and ready to fire.

"I bet you regret insulting my Lady now, huh?" she taunted, letting the lightning fly. Her cocky face, however, morphed into surprise as a metal claw seemed to sprout from the ground and absorb the electrical projectile. The claw than morphed and compacted itself into a large needle pointed straight at her, her own electricity still flowing through the metal. She briefly glanced at Sutomu, who was giving her a gleeful look.

"Finally, a good challenge! Toorya!" Raising his palm and giving a throwing motion, the needle flew towards Thalia, almost as if it had a mind of its own. Thalia quickly did her best to deflect the needle, feeling the electricity coursing through it. She kept most of her attention on the boy, now deducing that he was more dangerous than he let on. Bringing back his fist, she saw the air shift in front of it, creating a large fist of metal.

"No way…" she muttered absently, "Just who in the name of Hades are you…?" She raised her arms to absorb the impact as the fist flew forward. Her arms took the brunt of the impact, and Thalia was pretty sure that one of them had broken. She staggered back for the sheer force. When she looked back up, Sutomu was holding a rotating disk in his hand. His body seemed to be emitting a sort of static.

"I'll show what I couldn't show Artemis-Sama," he spoke with a grin. "Sākuruken!" The disk flew from Sutomu's hand, immediately expanding into a sphere and driving itself into Thalia's stomach, breaking on impact like a hard, metal snowball. Again, the girl staggered back. Sutomu rushed forward, encasing his right fist in a steel gauntlet and punching Thalia in the face. Her head flew back as Sutomu crouched down, punching with his other arm into her stomach. Thalia doubled over involuntarily, allowing Sutomu to knee her in the face. The force pushed her back upright, and the boy pushed his hand out electricity flying from his fingertips into the girl in front of him.

"S-Stop!" Thalia finally shouted, falling to her knees. She was breathing heavily, trying to regain her strength. Though not as strong as Artemis, she had felt she had a chance against the boy. He'd quickly proven her wrong, though brutally.

_"You shouldn't have used your Sākuruken on her," _Kazeha scolded his user when he was picked up.

_ I wanted to see if she was strong enough._

_ "That's bullshit and we both know it!" _the weapon roared, _"You were too hard on her!"_

_ Shut up! She's alive, isn't she?_

_ "That isn't the point! You need to learn how to hold back! That Ares girl wasn't able to get up for a whole day because of your last attack on her!" _Sutomu growled, ignoring the weapon's words. _"This is exactly why Tsukuyomi wanted you here, so you could learn to interact with other people!"_

_ I know… I know…_ the boy sighed, _But these kids need to know they're so weak…_

_ "They aren't weak," _Kazeha countered, _"Their strength lies in their love for one another. Their kinship. Something you don't have."_

_ I don't need that. _Sutomu watched as the girl in front of him slowly stood, the fight and anger gone from her eyes, _See? She's fine._

_ "You're just like your father…" _Kazeha responded, cutting of the mental connection before Sutomu could reply at all. Thalia crossed her arms and huffed, but it was evident that she was hurting. She held her right arm, as if cradling it. Itwas broken. She could tell. She wouldn't tell Artemis. She'd been the one to attack him, and so she'd paid the price.

"You're strong," was all she said before walking away. Sutomu simply watched her as she left. Was she angry with him? At first, she'd seemed like it. But now she seemed mostly depressed. What had happened? He was drawn from his wonderings at the sound of a fire, growing in volume. He looked around, but couldn't see any smoke. Was it his imagination? No, he was getting warmer. On a whim, Sutomu looked up just as the sun crashed into him.

_**SonOfTheEarth**_

Maybe it wasn't the smartest thing to do, but Annabeth was curious. It wasn't often that any of the gods visited Camp Half-Blood, but that wasn't a god that she recognized. It was a woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She had long, silky black hair with a few bright red highlights that seemed to let off wisps of flame every few seconds. She stood tall and regal, her unblemished, pale face giving off only the smallest hint of annoyance as she seemed to glare at the new camper, Sutomu Arashi. The woman wore a sterile white kimono with a deep red fire print on it, tied at the waist with a yellow cord.

"Humph, it seems my bastard of a brother has already made his play," the woman spoke as a crowd had gathered around them. Off to the side, Annabeth noted a girl about her age with the same stoic expression as the woman. Her hair was, instead, a fiery red, and she had a rounder face, but in all other ways she was nearly identical to the woman. Strapped to the girl's side was a deep red hilt, though where the blade was, Annabeth couldn't figure out. She also took notice of a beautiful golden necklace around the girl's neck, with five rubies adorning the front.

"Excuse me… Pardon me…" Annabeth heard Chiron's voice over the crowd, said centaur quickly making his way to the woman. Though Annabeth couldn't hear them, they began having a heated discussion. She decided to try and read their lips. "Lady Amaterasu, I hadn't expected you to be so early." Chiron's face was panicked.

"Nonsense," the woman, Amaterasu, responded, waving him off dismissively, "I told you I would come this week with my daughter, and here I am. You Greeks may be lazy creatures, but the same is not true of us. You should have expected me to be punctual."

"I apologize, but a cabin is not yet ready for your children," Chiron responded. Annabeth took a moment to process what she'd discovered. That was Amaterasu? But wasn't that a Japanese deity? Could it be possible that they existed as well? If so, what were they doing at Camp Half-Blood?

"You're getting lazy, old horse," Amaterasu replied, Annabeth's attention now returning to the conversation. It was hard with the murmuring around her. "I expected better of you." She then turned to Sutomu, who was staring at the girl behind the woman. "And just what are _you _looking at, _gaki _(brat)?" Sutomu looked at the woman curiously.

"Eh?" his reply left everyone unimpressed. _He might be a good fighter, but I suppose he's not a good speaker,_ Annabeth sighed. "N-Nothing Amaterasu-sama…"

"Good," the goddess gave him a hateful smirk that promised pain. "I'll be on my way, you old horse. Make sure that Ember doesn't cause any trouble. I'd hate to have to come back to this…" she looked around with a sickened expression on her face, "this dump that you call a camp…" Without so much as a motion, the woman burst into flames, disappearing as fast as she'd come. Gasps could be heard through the crowd of demigods.

"I suppose…" Chiron spoke up, "that this warrants an explanation." Everyone hushed as he spoke. "Though there are many ancient laws prohibiting me from revealing much to you, I feel you all are deserving to know at least some of the truth…" Annabeth's curiosity was piqued. "We shall meet in the amphitheater in ten minutes. Please finish whatever activity you were engaged in and be there on time. The centaur than spoke both with Sutomu and the girl named Ember, leading them away. Annabeth found both Percy and Jason talking together, though neither of them seemed to know what was going on. When Annabeth recalled what she'd learned, Percy was the first to react.

"So you're saying that Sutomu is related to these guys somehow?" he tried to confirm. Piper, who had joined sometime near the beginning of Annabeth's explanation, added her two cents.

"I wouldn't be surprised. Did you see the look on Chiron's face?" she asked. Both Percy and Jason shook their heads. "He looked scared, like that lady would blow up." She took her boyfriend's hand. "I saw Mr. D in the back, too. He didn't look happy." She paused, "Well, less happy than normal."

"Do you think they're a threat to the camp?" Percy asked, "Actually, do you think we could beat them?"

"Let's not think about that yet," Annabeth crossed her arms, still trying to think of what Japanese gods would be doing at Camp Half-Blood. They obviously weren't there to destroy it. If they were, they had the perfect chance to do so. "I say we listen to Chiron first, then decide."

"Wow, it feels like this is a Senate meeting back in Camp Jupiter," Jason added in with a small smile. "The high ranking officers planning on what to do with the camp's future, and any intruders in our midst."

"Really?" Percy asked, "We haven't had many meetings in the last year. Things have been pretty quiet."

"Oh, I almost forgot," Annabeth piped up. "Hazel, Reyna and Frank both say 'hi'. They say they might come down over the summer to visit. Make it a normal thing."

"Sounds great!" Piper couldn't help but smile. She'd been missing her friends from Camp Jupiter. "When should they get here?"

"Frank says around mid-summer," Annabeth replied, beginning to usher her friends to the amphitheater. "Maybe we can do an exhibition capture-the-flag with them?"

"That might be fun," Percy agreed, "I bet they've gotten a lot better since I was there."

"Then again, War Games were a bit one-sided," Jason reminded him, "They just took you for granted. You caught them completely off guard."

"Hey, it's what I do," Percy replied cheekily, "I've got a few new tricks up my sleeve, too! There's no way we can lose."

"It might not be a good idea to have a mock Greeks versus Romans battle so soon," Piper pointed out. "Some of them, and us for that matter, might still have some bad intentions. I'd rather we not 'accidentally' start trying to kill each other again."

"Ah, what could go wrong?"

"Piper's right, Percy," Annabeth sighed. They started taking their seats in the massive arena. "Trying to instill violence so soon after a blood feud that almost went completely wrong isn't the best idea. It might start something again. Let's wait another year. Or five…"

"Fine…"

Not much later, Chiron walked to the center of the arena, both Sutomu and Ember walking in beside him. The girl's once long, wavy hair was now braided to the left of her head, and she was dressed in a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and long jeans. She looked uncomfortable, though. She wouldn't stop staring at the ground, and had her hands cupped in front of herself. Sutomu, however, was almost the opposite. He didn't seem to be able to stop shifting his weight from one foot to the other, and he was looking at each of the campers as if sizing them up. But Annabeth could tell that it was his way of coping. He was nervous, just like Ember. Trailing behind the trio was Mr. D, who looked like he'd just gotten out of bed. His face was a light shade of purple, the same color it was when he'd finished yelling at someone.

"Campers," Chiron announced, gathering the attention of anyone who hadn't noticed them. "I have news that you will find both shocking… and terrifying…" Mr. D grumbled something at that. "We have two demigods here who are not of the Greek gods. Nor are they Roman." Murmurs broke out after the last sentence.

"Not Greek or Roman?"

"Is that even possible?"

"If they're demigods, what other gods are out there?"

"I bet is has to do with that woman we saw earlier."

"The hot one? Hey, maybe." Chiron stomped his back hoof to the ground a few times, quieting everyone.

"I know you must have many questions. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to answer all of them because of certain ancient laws," he resumed. "But I can say this much. The gods of Olympus are not the only deities that exist in this world. The two demigods you see before you are of Shinto gods."

"Why the hell are they _here_ than!?" someone shouted.

"Yeah! Don't they have their own camp!?"

"Shut up you snot nosed brats!" Mr. D yelled. He turned to Chiron after the shouting had stopped. "What? I'm not explaining this crap to them. Keep going, don't mind me." Chiron merely sighed.

"The Shinto gods… sparsely have children," Chiron announced. "Their children are deemed too powerful to stay in any one spot… The last time we hosted a Shinto demigod… was around 1776…" Annabeth gasped. It couldn't have been… "He was a son of Amaterasu, Shinto goddess of the sun and heaven. It… ended in disaster. Due to unforeseen turmoil amongst the campers, he caused the Great Fire of 1776." Before anyone could protest, Chiron continued. "Today we invite these two as the tributes of a new age! An age consisting of… peace." Though Chiron's pause was less than a second long, Annabeth and Piper both noticed it. He was hiding something. "All hail Ember Jigoku, daughter of the Shinto goddess of the sun and heaven, Amaterasu! All hail Sutomu Arashi, son of the Shinto god of storms and chaos, Susanoo." The entire arena was silent. Nobody wanted to invite two people who could possibly have the power to create supreme disasters. Instead, everyone except Annabeth, Percy, Piper, and Jason left without a word. One by one, her friends also left. Before Annabeth went to do the same, she could see the heartbroken looks on both of the Shinto demigods' faces. Despite her stoic façade when she arrived, and despite his almost carefree demeanor… they wanted to be accepted. It made her wonder, had the last son of Amaterasu felt the same way?

_**SonOfTheEarth**_

The man in the leather coat travelled down the narrow halls of stone, almost shaking in fear. He stood his ground, however, and proceeded. It was only the third time he had come to see her, but each time before scared him. She'd first came to him in a dream, where she'd tortured him with his own fears unless he'd co-operated with her. The second time was to introduce him to the Greek primordial named Gaea, who was to be his partner for his mission. Now, a year after her defeat, he had to face the consequences.

The halls of stone opened up into a cavern. It was large and spacious, and would have been beautiful if he hadn't known what was awaiting for him. The cavern was filled with ponds, small waterfalls, and a Zen garden that took up an eighth of the entire space. Glowing stalactites hung from the ceiling, flashing different colors every few seconds. The sounds of water filled the room in an almost calming way. At the far end was a simple throne made of silver, gold, and adorned with rubies and sapphires. As he approached the throne, the man kneeled.

"Kaa-sama (mother)," he spoke stiffly, hoping to not anger her any more than she already was. "I've returned." Above him, a figure materialized on the throne. An oriental woman with pale white skin, and wearing a circlet crown of gold and emeralds. She wore a kimono made of a black material, but if one looked closely enough, they would see images of destruction and death playing like a movie on the fabrics. She sat in a relaxed manner, her elbow resting on the arm of her throne, chin resting in her hand.

"So, the prodigal son returns to me," the woman spoke. Her voice much more different than Amaterasu's, the man noted. While his sister's had a light, almost teenage ring to it, his mother's was more mature. More wise. More _dangerous_. "It shames me to know that you and Gaea were unable to complete your mission. Explain to me what happened."

"The Greek and Roman demigods, kaa-sama… They interfered-"

"They were the _plan_, little boy!" the woman shouted, pushing herself forward in her seat. "You failed me! It was simple! Stir up trouble and they all die! You're the god of chaos! Do your job!"

"They were unexpectedly resilient, kaa-sama!" the man pleaded.

"Stop with your excuses, Susanoo-kun!" his mother growled. "Because of your mistakes, my most powerful pawn is defeated, lulled to sleep and destroyed into pieces so small she'll never reform again!" She took a deep breath, sitting back into her throne again. "At least you had that child…"

"He wasn't supposed to happen, kaa-sama."

"Perhaps not, but we'll make him useful," the woman purred. "Kill him."

"K-Kaa-sama?"

"Kill him. I want him here." An evil grin played itself upon the woman's face. "Soon enough, my little sochi… Soon enough I'll show my bastard of a husband that I hold my promises, and more."

"As you wish, kaa-sama," Susanoo bowed, than stood up to leave.

"You always were my favorite child, Susanoo-kun."

_**SonfOfTheEarth**_

Ember and Sutomu both sat alone in cabin 1. Since their 'guest cabin' hadn't even started being built, they were stuck in the cold, musty cabin that really wasn't worth much. Or at least, that's how Sutomu had described it. As it turned out, Ember was quite the cleaner. Though her definition of clean meant burn the entire room until all of the dust was gone. Fortunately, Sutomu had stopped the fire before it burned anything important. That statue of Zeus in the back wasn't important, was it? Nonetheless, it was their temporary residence. That much was clear.

"Dinner went well…" Ember spoke. Her voice was quiet and timid, Sutomu had learned. Both being essentially outcasts of the camp, the two had quickly bonded with the only friend available. Each other. "Nobody tried to 'prank' us." Sutomu shivered alongside his cabin mate. Not long after everyone had left the amphitheater, some of the Hermes children had taken up the hobby of pranking the duo whenever they could. The first strike was at lunch, when they'd placed quick drying glue on their seats. Not only had it been embarrassing, but both Ember and Sutomu lost a pair of pants that meal, still stuck to the bench at dinner. The next prank had been during the swordplay lessons. Though Sutomu wasn't targeted due to his known ability with a weapon, Ember was punished hard. The boy noticed that she'd taken a stock blade rather than draw upon her hilt, which he assumed was magical in some way much like Kazeha.

"We don't belong here," Sutomu said after a minute long pause. "My shishou was wrong… There's no reason for me to be at this stupid camp."

"Say… do you want to spar with me?" Ember asked, gaining Sutomu's surprised attention. "D-Don't give me that look… I… I find that when I'm stressed, that physical exercise helps…"

"Are you sure?" Sutomu asked, "I won't hold back on you."

"I can take it," Ember huffed indignantly, almost glaring at him. "Believe it or not, I'm almost as strong as my mom. So you better not look down on me!" Ember leapt from her bed, standing condescendingly over Sutomu. It surprised him to see such a shift in her personality.

"Fine, fine, let's go." Sutomu sighed, stretching as he stood before reaching over to the bed beside his to grab Kazeha. Ember and him had decided to each take up a bed beside the cabin's door, and that all of the other beds on their side of the cabin could be used as storage. Essentially, he controlled the side to the right of the entrance, and her the side to the left. It was easily to tell whose side was whose, since his was a massive disaster zone with clothing and personal items spread out all over.

Ember had quickly picked up her hilt. Though he hadn't gotten a good view of it earlier, Sutomu took a moment to study it. The hilt was made of some sort of red metal, and he could tell instantly that he couldn't control it if he tried. One of his abilities was to sense the conductivity of metals, something he used with his steel dust. He could normally feel metals out and, with direct contact, insert his static in them to control them with his will. The more conductive it was, the less effort it took to control it. Though normally he wouldn't be able to control steel, especially vast amounts of it, due to its resistivity, Tsukuyomi had given a special steel to him that he called "Storm Steel", which was more conductive than silver while still holding the strength of steel. Sutomu shook his head at the recollection, opting to keep studying the girl's hilt.

Aside from the handle, which was wrapped in a leather binding, the metal seemed to be made up of many different coils, all snaking and swirling together to make the hilt itself. It didn't seem to follow any one pattern, but instead almost looked like the flaming tongues of a fire. It was shaped almost like a small pole, but the metal went on for a good four inches above the handle, and an inch below.

_"Don't get cocky with this girl, Sutomu,"_ Kazeha warned him as the two left the cabin. _"She's definitely stronger than Artemis. I can feel it."_

_ Seriously? Stronger than a goddess?_

_ "This girl is no slouch. You can tell it in her posture."_

Sutomu looked the girl over. There didn't seem to be anything to worry about. Her hands were resting at her hips as she walked. Her back was arched and alert, but other than that, there didn't seem to be anything off. It just showed that she was well trained.

_Ok, I'll bite,_ Sutomu sighed inwardly, _What do you see that I don't?_

_ "The position of her hands."_

_ Yeah?_

_ "They're ready. If anything came at us, now, she'd instantly have a grip on that weapon of hers. Second, the way she's walking. Do you see it?"_

_ Yeah, she's skipping. So?_

_ "She's always moving. Every part of her- oi! Eyes away from the chest! Focus when I'm talking to you!"_

_ You're the one who pointed it out teme!_

_ "Just watch! No matter what, she's ready to take action! There's no gaps in her defenses that I can see. She's got a tighter body than Artemis, got it? There's no way she'll even let you touch her with me!" Kazeha paused a moment. "I swear to Izanagi that if you're having dirty thoughts I'll give you the biggest headache you've ever had!"_

_ Ok, ok! Sheesh… Both of you are on my case today…_

"Sutomu?"

"Hm?"

"We're here. Where are you going?" Sutomu blinked and stopped walking. He was right about to walk past the entrance to the amphitheater. He looked back and shrugged, giving the girl a cheeky grin.

"Sorry, I was lost in thought." Ember seemed to accept that answer. The two entered the arena in silence. The sun had since set, and they could hear the other campers doing the last of their activities in the distance. The two were completely alone, facing each other down under the faint light of the few torches around them, and the moon. Shadows danced across Ember's pale, rounded face, giving her a mystical, regal look.

"Neither of us will hold back, yes?" Ember's personality did a complete 180 once again. Sutomu decided to separate them into groups. First, the timid Ember. Maybe that was her real personality. What she was like normally in the presence of those she considered friends. Than tsundere Ember, which seemed to be when she got spirited or upset. Than now, he categorized this as regal Ember. When she wanted to be intimidating or seem proper. He filed those into the back of his mind before nodding in response to her question. He immediately drew Kazeha from the sheath on his back, ad Ember grabbed her hilt in a reverse grip. "_Ichi _(One)!" Immediately after Ember yelled, flames shot from the hand gripping her hilt enveloping the metal. Not a split second later, a long blade nearly four feet long sprouted from the hilt, made completely of fire. On the bottom of the hilt, a small flame, almost like a wild candle flame, appeared. She raised the flaming blade in front of her. It was sleek, and even looked solid in the center. Sutomu could feel the heat, even though he was six feet away from her.

"Well, shit," he commended, opening Kazeha. He stared at her, not quite sure what to do about what he was seeing. "I probably don't want that to touch me…"

"Kyaaa!" Ember immediately rushed forward towards him. She was fast. Even faster than Artemis had been. Sutomu tried to jump back, but the tip of her blade swung forward, dragging itself across his leg.

"Geh!" Sutomu stumbled, when he landed, swinging Kazeha forward. Ember flew back at the wind generated, giving Sutomu a moment to look at his wound. It was definitely a burn. Nothing too serious, but it would definitely hurt if anything touched it. "Damn, she's dangerous…"

"_Ni_ (Two)!" Sutomu felt the heat from the blade increase, and a flaming handguard appeared on the handle of Ember's weapon. "Flame Geyser!" Ember raised her weapon and stabbed the ground. Sutomu felt the vibrations in the ground, and quickly flung himself out of the way. Not a second later, a large eruption of flames broke through the ground where he'd just been standing.

"This girl wants to kill me!" Sutomu spoke with disbelief. Could it be possible that this girl was stronger than his master, even…? "I can't give up without a fight! I gotta end this now before she can hit me any more!" Sutomu tumbled on the ground, swinging Kazeha rapidly, electricity arcing off the weapon with each swing. Each time, Ember disrupted the electricity with her own sword as if parrying another blade. Quickly, Sutomu spun Kazeha in his hand, using the handle as a pivot. The air around him began to crackle with electricity. "Hrrragh!" He thrust his weapon forward as it spun, and a massive beam of condensed electricity shot forward.

"I won't be hit so easily!" Ember seemed to sidestep the beam, which had been at least six feet wide. Sutomu's eyes widened. During the battle he'd wondered how she was moving so fast. Now it was obvious. She was ejecting fire off of her body and blade to act like jets. She hadn't sidestepped the blast, she'd been jettisoned by her fire to the side. He wondered if he could figure out something similar. Right after Ember moved to the side, she burst forward, blade outstretched and ready to strike. "_San _(Three)! Kyaaa!" Sutomu's eyes widened. Ember's blade widened in size. The only comparison that could be made was that it looked a lot like the super-sword of some video game character Tsukuyomi had mentioned. He'd called it a _buster blade_. Either way, it was intimidating.

_Oh hell no, I'm not letting that touch me! _Sutomu screamed in his mind. He dropped Kazeha and raised his hands quickly, his steel dust immediately responding to his call. The dust flowed out of his pockets, raising into a steel wall between him and Ember. He stumbled back as her blade pierced the wall. _N-No way!_ His eye twitched as he used the steel to push forward along the blade, wrapping around Ember's hand and crushing it.

"A-Ah!" Ember cried out in pain, her hand releasing the hilt of her weapon. Immediately after, the flaming blade disappeared, leaving only its handle. "Damn you!" She growled, a burst of flame appearing in her hand, forcibly dispersing Sutomu's steel. "Grr, let's try this!" Sutomu watched in awe as her necklace began to glow. "I'm done taking it easy on you!" The boy was blasted back as Ember exploded into flames. "Behold my mother's power!" Ember was engulfed in a yellow fire, her bright red hair flowing in the air on their own. She looked fearsome. She looked powerful. And Sutomu was excited. He laughed and spread his dust into the air, allowing the excess static to travel between them, making it look like he was surrounded by lightning. His hair stood on end from the extreme pressure of his own static. His stormy eyes locked onto the girl in front of him.

"I won't lose this time!" he growled, though his face betrayed the glee he was trying to hide. "Not to someone who isn't a god!" Ember's fire shrunk down, merely enveloping her hands and feet. But Sutomu could tell that none of the power she'd shown before was lost. Just condensed. He unconsciously shuddered. If she even touched him, he'd get second degree burns. He was sure of it. He ran forward, his hands encased in his own steel, and coursing with electricity. Ember did the same. She was a blur, leaving a trail of fire behind her. As soon as she got close, into the range of his steel dust, Sutomu began zapping her with the static in his steel. He drew his hand back as Ember did the same. A fist of steel began to form in front of his hand, almost two times the size of his head. It was soaked in electricity, sparks flying off of it. Ember's fist burned brightly, nearly blinding him.

"_**Kyaaaa!"**_

"_**Tooraaah!"**_

At the same time, their fists flew forward, colliding.

That was when everything went white, his ears ringing from the sound of the resulting explosion.


End file.
